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While We're Gone:North American Woodland
2 Million Years in the Future...and the world is now minus humans, say for the ever diligent satellites that orbit the Earth, and witness just how insane things get while we're away. By now, things have quieted down since the hu-man came in to assert their dominance as the primary species of Earth. While not every species has carried on without us, many remain that prowl the world, able to return to old domains without man around to interfere. But even without humans to meddle in animal affairs, the world is not entirely at ease. For you see, a great Ice Age will come and cause cataclysmic events across the Earth. And nowhere is that more evident than with North America. In the future, the northern ice caps are extending, reaching ever southward, turning the wheat-belt into a scrubland by this point. And it's here where we see one of the biggest problems with this scrubland; sandstorms that make finding shelter incredibly hard. Here, though, life remains ever-stubborn, and with few trees in this new world, some new faces gain dominance. Among these are the Pebble Grouse, a descendant of the greater sage grouse that has grown to the size of the now-extinct dodo.To combat the sandstorms, they've developed a feature found in some Megapodes today; digging a mound-like burrow to escape the worst of these gales of wind. These mounds are actually dug in pretty deep so as to escape predators as well; intricate enough to be used as escape-holes, not unlike a groundhog's today. To survive, they feed on tubers found below ground, as well as insects and the buds of drought-resistant shrubs. In time, they will form two evolutionary pathways to combat two known threats. The first is a descendant of the coyote known as a Mounder, which has a slim, sleek body that can enter Pebble Grouse Burrows with ease. Though, in truth, much like the badgers of today, they'll eat just about any kind of meat, grouse is just preferred. Second on the danger list is a beast not on the ground, but in the air. Descended from the vampire bat, the Peregrine Bat is a diurnal species due to how cold it can get at night with the Ice Age slowly beginning. They travel in flocks, and divebomb Pebble Grouses out in the open, then using their sharp claws to grab their throats and crush the windpipe just as it tries to struggle! But don't think the Peregrine Bat eats only meat; its learned to adjust its diet to be supplemented by cactus flowers, like its cousins of the past. And besides, it too is part of a much more fearsome food chain. That's because besides Mounders looking for an easy target, there's also the dominant predator of the skies: the Skullgleaner! Descended from turkey vultures, these large birds attack big prey, as well as Peregrine Bats and Pebble Grouses. Their most notable prey is a descendant of the pronghorn known as Dwarf Sagelope; we'll meet its greater cousin a little later on, but suffice to say, they've shrunken so as to better fit the slowly chilling climate. Every year, they migrate across the scrubland in search of both grazing and water, which rarely falls in this dry wilderness. In 2 Million Years time, the Earth is beginning to change quite a bit, with new creatures to take hold in this bipolar wilderness of heat and cold. We shall go into further detail in the individual profiles, but join us next time, as we venture south of the border to South America, where the seeds of a new savannah habitat will begin to take root. Category:While We're Gone Category:Future Earth Category:Dinoboygreen Category:2 Million Years Category:North American Woodland